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It’s the end of another year. Looking back, I have no regrets about 2011. It’s been a very productive year. I tackled 2011 with gusto. Now that we are in 2012, I’m taking the opposite approach. I’m going to do less. Significantly less. And today I applied that strategy to the first day of the year and it felt just right.

A few weeks ago I was at a dinner party. I got into a very interesting conversation with an architect about journaling. I am actively participating in the book The Artist’s Way, and doing the journaling exercises religiously. It has been a profound and transformative experience. The architect mentioned to me that he had journaled in the past and loved it. Then he moved from writing his entries long hand to typing his entries in his computer. For some reason unknown to him he stopped writing altogether. He said it wasn’t the same, and he did not know why. The first thing that came to my mind was that he had interrupted the organic process. When you are expressing thoughts, ideas, feelings by writing long hand on paper, the process is transferred through you, onto the paper. But when you are typing on the computer, which I feel is more of an external experience,  something is lost in the translation. Something valuable.  I had been feeling disconnected in the final weeks of 2011. Overwhelmed all the time and in a way that told me that even if I had all the time in the world to “catch up”,  and accomplish all my tasks, that I would still be feeling…overwhelmed. I had begun to reassess things and I came to the realization that I felt disconnected.

What I craved were whole foods, yet I was on a diet of over-processed junk with no nutritional content. Writing in my journal long hand was romantic. It was local, organic and chock full of vitamins. I had this craving to re-commit to my yoga practice which I have neglected and “Haven’t had time for.” I re-visited my yoga mat and it was exactly what had been missing. I felt whole and nourished. When I take the time out to “eat right” the investment you make in that deposit to yourself pays back 10 fold. It’s a long term gain. And the irony is, that I am more productive by slowing down. The nutrients have time to become absorbed, and as a result I have more clarity and sense of purpose.

This article was sent to me on New Year’s eve by a good friend of mine, and it came just in time. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/opinion/sunday/the-joy-of-quiet.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

By creating more technological ways to reach out and touch someone, we are more out of touch than ever. By being able to reach everyone, we’ve lost touch with ourselves in the process. I have retreated inward rather than outward. Old school hand written agenda. Hand made holiday cards. Hard cover books. I’d rather look forward to eating at a good restaurant once a month and enjoy it and have a memorable experience than eat out cheap every night.

What better time to instigate change than the end of the year. This list came just in time.  I’m afflicted by 1,19,28 and 29. Which ones resonate with you?

As Maria Robinson once said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”  Nothing could be closer to the truth.  But before you can begin this process of transformation you have to stop doing the things that have been holding you back.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you.  If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you.  You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot.  Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth.  And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.
2. Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on.  No, it won’t be easy.  There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them.  We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems.  That’s not how we’re made.  In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall.  Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time.  This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.
3. Stop lying to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself.  Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves.  Read The Road Less Traveled.
4. Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.  Yes, help others; but help yourself too.  If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.
5. Stop trying to be someone you’re not. – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else.  Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you.  Don’t change so people will like you.  Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.
6. Stop trying to hold onto the past. – You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.
7. Stop being scared to make a mistake. – Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing.  Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success.  You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.
8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us.  We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past.  But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future.  Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.
9. Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive.  But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions.
10. Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness. – If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either.  You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else.  Read Stumbling on Happiness.
11. Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place.  Evaluate situations and take decisive action.  You cannot change what you refuse to confront.  Making progress involves risk.  Period!  You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.
12. Stop thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises.  Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.
13. Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. – Relationships must be chosen wisely.  It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company.  There’s no need to rush.  If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.
14. Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. – In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet.  Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you.  But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you.
15. Stop trying to compete against everyone else. – Don’t worry about what others doing better than you.  Concentrate on beating your own records every day.  Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.
16. Stop being jealous of others. – Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own.  Ask yourself this:  “What’s something I have that everyone wants?”
17. Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself. – Life’s curveballs are thrown for a reason – to shift your path in a direction that is meant for you.  You may not see or understand everything the moment it happens, and it may be tough.  But reflect back on those negative curveballs thrown at you in the past.  You’ll often see that eventually they led you to a better place, person, state of mind, or situation.  So smile!  Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.
18. Stop holding grudges. – Don’t live your life with hate in your heart.  You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate.  Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.”  It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.”  Forgiveness is the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself!  And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too.  If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time.
19. Stop letting others bring you down to their level. – Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.
20. Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others. – Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway.  Just do what you know in your heart is right.
21. Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. – The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it.  If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.  Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly.
22. Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments. – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things.  The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.
23. Stop trying to make things perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done.  Read Getting Things Done.
24. Stop following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile.  Don’t take the easy way out.  Do something extraordinary.
25. Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. – It’s okay to fall apart for a little while.  You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well.  You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears.  The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.
26. Stop blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life.  When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life.
27. Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out.  But making one person smile CAN change the world.  Maybe not the whole world, but their world.  So narrow your focus.
28. Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy.  One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time?  Three years?  Five years?”  If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.
29. Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen.  Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story.  If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.
30. Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life.  Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs.  Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.

My projects often deal with difficult subject matter. There is so much despair in the world and we are overwhelmed with statistics and numbers that it’s mind numbing. The only way to cope it seems, is to live in denial. Compartmentalize, in order to maintain some kind of sanity.  However, I find that denial as a numbing agent is never an effective coping mechanism. Avoidance usually just compounds the pain. Being with it, experiencing it, and moving through it, is the only real route to salvation. It’s not an easy road to take.  It took me 4 years to get the courage to photograph my “Hit and Run” series. I was so sensitive to the topic that when driving if my husband saw an animal on the side of the road, he’d warn me in advance so that I could look away. Then one day I was walking my dogs and came upon a large opossum. It lay in the road, curled up and peaceful as if it were sleeping. I was confronted head on and this time couldn’t look away. It was in that moment that I committed to my project.

Transformation is what ensued. I was able to move from not being able to look at a fallen animal from inside a moving car, to standing inches away from one. Confronting what hurts me the most, was therapeutic. It enabled me to be with it, and move through it as difficult as it was (and still is) because my motivation was greater than my fear: Awareness and contemplation of our actions as a society, and our personal role in it.  Like Chris Jordan, I love the world that we live in. I have a deep reverence for the beauty of our planet and all that we’ve been given, and we have lost our way.

In this interview conducted by  Chase Jarvis, Chris Jordan discusses his work and hope for a better future.

Chris Jordan on fear, inspiration and living fully

Midway By Chris Jordan

October is coming to an end as leaves are falling and turning brown as November approaches. Finding an occasional day here and there at the playground.

When I’m working on a project, I take a dinner and a movie approach. Usually I discount the first date as a “get to know” you visit  to establish a relationship with whoever my contact is. It’s a process of “allowing.” I allow them to get to know me, I allow myself to get to know them, and I take this opportunity to familiarize myself with my surroundings. It’s usually the first few minutes that you can tell how the relationship is going to progress. This takes discipline and often times sacrifice. There have been times when the light is just right or I see a shot while I’m in the middle of a conversation, but I don’t allow myself to get distracted and I continue to lay the foundation brick by brick because it allows me to build trust and to have access to what I need in the future.  It’s also a matter of respect. I feel that when you take your time and don’t rush the process, it all unfolds as it’s supposed to. Even if it’s a short term project, I approach it the same way. I speak to the contact person before my visit and not just though email, and discuss not only what my intentions are, but I ask about them and what their involvement, connection and relationship is to whatever the subject matter is. If your objective is to go in and just get “grab shots” then I feel that is what comes across in the work. There is a lack of honesty and depth. No connection. I find this process rewarding and through it have met the most amazing and interesting people.  There is a sense of welcomeness to my visits. As if I’m dropping by to say hello rather than go to work, and it provides a deeper connection to your project, which then becomes embedded in your photos. The casualness and good energy lend itself towards  creating a good foundation for the work that lies ahead. It’s about grace and respect. Recently I’ve been visiting farms for my latest project. I remember as I came out of the pasture that the farmer said to me “I noticed that the cows are quiet.  I didn’t hear them mooing. And they are quiet now after you have left” (cows moo to communicate with one another and when they feel stressed) This was a result of his energy and how he runs his farm. I tried to be consistent with the environment as it was, so that I could simply capture the honesty that already exists. My goal isn’t to get the best photos possible, but to do justice to reason I do the project in the first place. Then the photos take care of themselves.

There are interesting things all around us, all the time, if we pay attention. I often have to stop myself from obsessively “seeing” wherever I go. This is the great thing about an iphone. It’s also a bad thing about the iphone because if I had my choice, I would drag my D3 with me everywhere I go. I still have not embraced point and shoots. I can’t find one that I like because they are all too small for me. I don’t like the little controls, the little dials and all the information displayed on the screen in the back. I need simple simple simple, and I need girth in my instruments. So for now, I guess that means I just have to rely on my iphone. But as Murphy’s Law would have it, you often see something you wish you could capture in raw, and when that happens, you are without “that” camera. But until they make a full sensor in a point and shoot, I guess I’ll just have to rely on my iphone, which is with me, wherever I go.